Welcome to The Water Cooler, a weekly feature where the /Film staff is free to go off-topic and talk about everything except the movies and TV shows they normally write about. In this edition: Ethan saw Mike Birbiglia‘s new stand-up special live in person, Hoai-Tran has been reading a current best-seller, Peter attends a secret magic show, Ben read a classic Agatha Christie mystery novel, Chris attempts to get over his fear of flying, and Jacob explains the nightmare of buying a new house.

The first trailer for Murder on the Orient Expressbecame a viral sensation not because it was representing an adaptation of a celebrated mystery novel from a grand master of the genre directed by a respected filmmaker and starring a murderer’s row of interesting actors. Oh, no. It became a viral sensation because the 20th Century Fox marketing department apparently decided that a preview for one of the most legendary whodunits of all time needed some Imagine Dragons on the soundtrack to attract the kids.

And now, the second Murder on the Orient Express trailer is here to redeem that first trailer. Hopefully.

Yesterday brought the teaser trailer for the star-studded adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery Murder on the Orient Express. The trailer walked us through the title train, labeling each of the cast members as they appeared, including Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, Josh Gad, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz, Olivia Colman, Leslie Odom Jr, Willem Dafoe, Tom Bateman, Derek Jacobi. But it was the end of the trailer that was rather weird.

The Murder on the Orient Express trailer closed with the introduction of Hercule Poirot, the man who will beinvestigating the crime, played by a handsomely mustached Kenneth Branagh. The end of the trailer is meant to end with a bang as Poirot describes himself as the greatest detective in the world just before a pronounced musical cue hits. The only problem is that musical cue is the modern song “Believers” by Imagine Dragons, and the modern sound just doesn’t fit with the classical style of the trailer, instead screaming of desperation to look hip for all the youths out there.

Thankfully, someone decided to make the end of the trailer much better with some other musical cues. Watch the improvement on the Murder on the Orient Express trailer song below! Read More »

20th Century Fox has debuted the first trailer and poster for Kenneth Branagh’s new film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic whodunit mystery, Murder on the Orient Express. And while this train car is packed with a tremendously high-profile cast, the biggest star of them all may be the absurd mustache on Branagh’s face as he portrays one of the most famous detectives in all of literature, Hercule Poirot. Climb aboard and watch the new Murder on the Orient Express trailer below.Read More »

Crime stories have been all the rage lately, ranging from the documentary series Making a Murderer to the podcast Serial and the dramatization of one of the most publicized trials ever in The People vs O.J. Simpson. This fall we’ll get another one, but it’ll be a classic that millions have either read or seen before.

Murder on the Orient Express is a new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic novel or a remake of Sidney Lumet’s 1974 film adaptation, however you want to look at it. The whodunit won’t hit theaters until November, but some first look photos have just arrived showing off the star-studded cast that includes Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, Josh Gad, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz, Olivia Colman, Leslie Odom Jr, Willem Dafoe, Tom Bateman, Derek Jacobiand the film’s director, Kenneth Branagh, with one of the most impressive mustaches the big screen as ever seen.

Our own Peter Sciretta saw some footage at CinemaCon and said it looks promising, complete with some stellar costume and production design. Now you can see what he was talking about in the first Murder on the Orient Express remake photos below. Read More »

This morning 20th Century Fox caught everyone off guard by announcing new release dates for all four of the developing Avatar sequels that will start shooting this summer. But that wasn’t the only release date news the studio had to offer.

Fox has also confirmed the release dates for all of their Marvel movies in 2018, which includes X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Deadpool 2 and New Mutants. In addition, they’ve also shuffled the dates for The Predator, the delayed Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the remake of Murder on the Orient Express, and the spy thriller Red Sparrow. Plus, they’ve also given a release date to Steven Spielberg‘s next movie.

Get all the updated 20th Century Fox release dates after the jump. Read More »

Our own Peter Sciretta has spent the past week in Las Vegas for CinemaCon 2017, where he has been reporting on trailers, clips, and even full screenings shared by Hollywood’s biggest studios. Today, he attended 20th Century Fox’s presentation, where he saw footage from War For the Planet of the Apes, Alien: Covenant, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Murder on the Orient Express, Red Sparrow, The Greatest Showman, and more. His thoughts, in video and written form, can be found below.

Daisy Ridley may have been new to movie stardom circa Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but by now she’s an old pro at dodging questions. Watch as shrugs that she doesn’t think Rey’s parentage is really “so important,” or coolly deflects further inquiries with “curiosity is a wonderful thing.” Unfortunately for her, though, fans and journalists aren’t the only ones she has to watch out for.

For the past several weeks, Josh Gad — Ridley’s co-star in the Murder on the Orient Express remake — has been trying hisdamnedest to get some Star Wars: The Last Jedi answers from her, even enlisting the help of Judi Dench. So far, Ridley’s resisted. But can she continue to stand firm against all of Gad’s famous friends? Find out below. Read More »

When Willem Dafoe signs up for a movie, that film is pretty much guaranteed to have at least one good performance. We expect nothing less of Dafoe, an actor I can’t think of giving an underwhelming performance in recent memory. Not only is he consistent, he’s also great more often than not, so it’s satisfying to learn he’s joined Kenneth Branagh‘s Murder on the Orient Expressremake.

Penélope Cruz is the latest actor to sign up for Kenneth Branagh‘s star-studded remake of Murder on the Orient Express. The cast already includes Dame Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Michael Peña, and Johnny Depp. We already know the characters they’re all playing, but Cruz’s role is currently unknown.